The year was 1869. Joseph Campbell (a fruit merchant) and Abraham Anderson (an icebox manufacturer) started a business in Camden, New Jersey. It was called the Joseph Campbell Preserve Company. They made canned tomatoes, vegetables, jellies, condiments, and minced meats.
In 1876 the two partners disagreed. They dissolved the partnership but remained friends. Arthur Dorrance formed a new company with Joseph Campbell called Joseph Campbell & Company.
In 1891 the name changed again to Joseph Campbell Preserve Company. In 1921 the company changed again and become Campbell Soup Company.
In 1897 Dr. John T. Dorrance (a chemist, and nephew of Arthur Dorrance) began working there. Dr. Dorrance invented condensed soup. Condensed soup is very thick because the water has been taken out. Taking out the water in canned soup lowered the price for packaging, shipping and storage. People could easily afford to buy this soup. It became very popular!
Campbell Soup Company used different advertisements over the years. In 1904 they began using the Campbell's Kids. In the 1930s they started using their jingle "M'm! M'm! Good!" on the radio. Later they started using television commercials.
Most people easily recognize a Campbell's soup can because it is red and white. The original cans, however, looked different. Then, in 1898, Herberton Williams (one of the company executives) was at a football game between Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania. He got a good idea from seeing Cornell's new bright red and white uniforms. Campbell Soup Company decided to use these same colors and changed their soup labels.
The five original kinds of soup the company made were Tomato, Consommé, Vegetable, Chicken, and Oxtail. Campbell makes a lot of soups today. Many people use some of these soups as sauces to cook with. Besides the original soups, Campbell also has other kinds, like "Healthy Request", and "Home Cookin".
The Campbell company also includes other brand names such as "Pepperidge Farm", "Franco-American", "V8", "Swanson" and "Godiva Chocolates".
Campbell's products can be bought in 120 countries around the world today. Their headquarters, however, remain in Camden, New Jersey.
Please continue to the next page to see the results of our Campbell Soup survey!
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